Chapter 14

It is not improbable that a kind of hieroglyphical writing existed in some of the Peruvian communities, especially among the Aymaraes. Humboldt mentions books of hieroglyphical writing found among the Panoes, on the River Ucayali, which were "bundles of their paper resembling our volumes in quarto." A Franciscan missionary found an old man sitting at the foot of a palm-tree and reading one of these books to several young persons. The Franciscan was told that the writing "contained hidden things which no stranger ought to know." It was seen that the pages of the book were "covered with figures of men, animals, and isolated characters, deemed hieroglyphical, and arranged in lines with order and symmetry." The Panoes said these books "were transmitted to them by their ancestors, and had relation to wanderings and ancient wars." There is similar writing on a prepared llama skin found among other antiquities on a peninsula in Lake Titicaca, which is now in the museum at La Paz, Bolivia. It appears to be a record of atrocities perpetrated by the Spaniards at the time of the Conquest, and shows that some of the Aymaraes could at that time write hieroglyphics.

XI.

PERUVIAN ANCIENT HISTORY.

The Peruvians, like most other important peoples in all ages, had mythical wonder-stories instead of authentic ancient history to explain the origin of their nation. These were told in traditions and legends preserved and transmitted from generation to generation by the _amautas_. If they were also recorded in secret books of hieroglyphical writing, such as those found among the Panoes on the Ucayali, which "contained hidden things that no stranger ought to know," satisfactory evidence of the fact has never been brought to light. In addition to these, they had many historical traditions of much more importance, related in long poems and preserved in the same way; and there were annals and national documents recorded in the _quippus_.

Some of the Spanish writers on Peru, who described what they saw in the country at the time of the Conquest, discussed its history. If they had used the proper sources of information with a more penetrating and complete investigation, and studied the subject as it might have been studied at that time, their historical sketches would now have great value. The two most important works written at this time, the "Relacion" of Sarmiento and the "Relaciones" of Polo de Ondegardo, were never printed. But none of these writers sought to study Peruvian antiquity beyond the period of the Incas, although some of them (Acosta for instance) inquired sufficiently to see that Manco Capac was a mythical personage prefixed to the dynastic line of the Incas without actually belonging to it. This limited view of the ancient history, which was inconsistent with what could be seen in the antiquities and traditions of the country, was generally accepted, because nothing more could be known in Europe, and its influence was established by the undue importance accorded to the "Commentarios Reales" of Garcilasso de la Vega, published in 1609.

GARCILASSO'S HISTORY.

Garcilasso de la Vega, the son of a distinguished Spaniard of the same name, was born at Cuzco in 1540. His mother, named Nusta, was a niece of the great Inca Huayna Capac, and granddaughter of his no less eminent predecessor, Tupac Yupanqui. The intimate blood relationship which connected him with the Incas naturally drew attention to his work, and, with more haste than reason, was treated as the best possible qualification for writing Peruvian history; therefore his "Commentarios" acquired a very great celebrity, and came to be regarded as the highest authority on all questions relating to Peru previous to the Conquest. The work never deserved this reputation, although it was not without value as an addition to what had been written on the subject by Spaniards. Garcilasso was not well qualified to write a faithful history of Peru either by his knowledge or by the temper of his mind. His aim was to glorify the Incas and their times, and much of his work was in the strain of tales heard in childhood from his mother.

The "Commentarios Reales" were written just as their author's training had prepared him to write them. He lived in Cuzco without education until he was nearly twenty years old, his intellectual development being confined to the instruction necessary to make him a good Catholic. He then went to Spain and never returned to Peru. The next period of his life was devoted to seeking distinction in the Spanish military service; but political influence was against him, and he could not attain the object of his ambition. He finally retired to Cordova, acquired some literary culture, and resolved to win distinction by writing a history of his native country. His materials for such a history, in addition to what could be learned from the earlier Spanish writers, consisted entirely of what he had learned of his mother and his early Peruvian associates at Cuzco, and of such acquisitions as could be gained by means of correspondence with his acquaintances in Peru, after the purpose to write a history was formed. It can be seen readily that Garcilasso's history written in this way might have a certain value, while it could not be safely accepted as an authority. The first part of his work was published in 1609, when he was nearly seventy years old.

According to his version of the Peruvian annals, the rule of the Incas began with the mythical Manco Capac, and lasted over five hundred years; and this version, with some variations in estimates of the time, has been repeated ever since. The dynastic line of the Incas thus determined is given in the work of Rivero and Von Tschudi as follows:

1. Manco-Capac, mysterious "son of the sun," who began to reign in 1021 A.D., and died in 1062, having reigned forty years. 2. Sinchi-Rocca, who reigned thirty years, from 1062 to 1091. 3. Lloque-Yupanqui, reigned thirty-five years, from 1091 to 1126. 4. Mayta-Capac, thirty years, from 1126 to 1156. 5. Capac-Yupanqui, forty-one years, from 1156 to 1197. 6. Inca Rocca, fifty-one years, from 1197 to 1249. 7. Yahuar-Capac, forty years, from 1249 to 1289. 8. Viracocha, fifty-one years, from 1289 to 1340; his son Inca Urco reigned after him eleven days, and was then deposed "as a fool incapable of governing." 9. Titu-Manco-Capac-Pachacutec, sixty years, from 1340 to 1400, living, says tradition, to be one hundred and three years old. 10. Yupanqui, thirty-nine years, from 1400 to 1439. 11. Tupac-Yupanqui (Garcilasso's great-grandfather) thirty-six years, from 1439 to 1475. 12. Huayna-Capac, "the most glorious of the Incas," fifty years, from 1475 to 1525. After his death the empire was divided between his two sons Huascar and Atahuallpa. This caused a civil war, which ended with the death of Huascar in 1532. One year later Atahuallpa was himself destroyed by Cortez.

Manco-Capac, here set down as the first Inca, with a marvelous story of his mysterious origin and his miraculous powers as a civilizer, was undoubtedly borrowed from traditions of the origin of civilization in the more ancient times, which had been used by the Incas in support of their claim to direct descent from the sun. In reality, the first Inca was Rocca, or Sinchi-Rocca, and several of the early Spanish writers were sufficiently well informed to see this. The period of the Incas must have been less than five hundred years if their dynasty consisted of no more than twelve or thirteen sovereigns. In other respects, this table of the sovereigns may be substantially correct, for there is a general agreement in regard to the names and the order of succession, although Montesinos maintains that the fifth Inca on the list was borrowed by Garcilasso from traditions of a much more ancient sovereign who was greatly celebrated in the historical poems, or confounded with him. The period of the Incas was very distinct in Peruvian history, but it is now understood that they represent only the last period in the history of a civilization which began much farther back in the past.

FERNANDO MONTESINOS.

The only Spanish writer who really studied the ancient history of Peru in the traditional and other records of the country was Fernando Montesinos, who went there about a century after the Conquest. He was sent from Spain on service which took him to every part of Peru, and gave him the best possible opportunities for investigation. He was a scholar and a worker, with a strong inclination to such studies, and, during two periods of residence in the country, he devoted fifteen years to these inquiries with unremitting industry and great success. He soon learned to communicate freely with the Peruvians in their own language; then he applied himself to collect the historical poems, narratives, and traditions. He succeeded in getting assistance from many of the older men who had learned of the _amautas_, and especially of those who were trained to read the _quippus_. Nothing was omitted which could aid his purpose. In this way Montesinos made a great collection of what may be called the _old Peruvian documents_, and gained a vast amount of information which no other writer had used or even sought to acquire.

The materials collected were more important than is at once understood by those accustomed to depend wholly on writing and printing for the preservation of literature, because they can not easily realize to what extent the faculty of memory may be sharpened and developed by a class of men devoted to this culture in communities where such mechanical aids do not exist. It is known that long poems, stories, and historical narratives have been preserved by unlettered peoples much below the civilized condition of the Peruvians. Long poems, extending to three and four hundred lines, were retained by memory, and transmitted from generation to generation among the Sandwich Islanders. Many scholars have believed that all the early literature of Greece, including the Iliad, the Odyssey, and all other "poems of the Cycle," was preserved in this way by the Rhapsodists for centuries, down to the time of Peisistratus, and then for the first time reduced to writing. This shows at least what they have believed was possible. In Max Mueller's "History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature" it is argued strongly that the Vedas were not written at first, but were transmitted orally, being learned by heart in the great religious schools of the Indo-Aryans as an indispensable part of education. This is likely to be true, whether we assume that the Indo-Aryans had or had not the art of writing; for, in the Vaidic age, the divine songs of the Veda were so intimately associated with the mysteries of their religion that they may have been held too sacred to be made common by written characters.

Therefore it is no wise incredible, nor even surprising, that a considerable amount of literature existed in Peru without the aid of writing. On the contrary, it would be surprising if they had failed to do what has been done by every other people in like circumstances. The schools of the _amautas_ were national institutions specially set apart for the business of preserving and increasing knowledge, teaching, and literary work of every kind. In a country where civilization was so much advanced in many respects, they could not have been entirely barren. Those who criticise Montesinos admit that "his advantages were great," that "no one equaled him in archaeological knowledge of Peru," and that "he became acquainted with original instruments which he occasionally transferred to his own pages, and which it would now be difficult to meet elsewhere." The results of his investigation are embodied in a work entitled "Memorias Antiguas Historiales del Peru." This, with another work on the Conquest entitled "Annales," remained in manuscript at Madrid until the "Memorias" was translated into French by M. Ternaux-Compans, and printed in his collection of original documents relating to the discovery and exploration of America.

HIS SCHEME OF PERUVIAN HISTORY.

According to Montesinos, there were three distinct periods in the history of Peru. First, there was a period which began with the origin of civilization, and lasted until the first or second century of the Christian era. Second, there was a period of disintegration, decline, and disorder, introduced by successful invasions from the east and southeast, during which the country was broken up into small states, and many of the arts of civilization were lost; this period lasted more than a thousand years. Third and last came the period of the Incas, who revived civilization and restored the empire. He discards the wonder-stories told of Manco-Capac and Mama Oello, and gives the Peruvian nation a beginning which is, at least, not incredible. It was originated, he says, by a people led by four brothers, who settled in the Valley of Cuzco, and developed civilization there in a very human way. The youngest of these brothers assumed supreme authority, and became the first of a long line of sovereigns.

Montesinos gives a list of sixty-four sovereigns who reigned in the first period. The first was Puhua Manco, or Ayar-Uchu-Topa, the youngest of the four brothers, whose power was increased by the willing submission of "neighboring nations." His successor, called Manco-Capac, is described as a remarkable character; "adjacent nations dreaded his power," and in his time the kingdom was much increased. Next came Huainaevi-Pishua, and "during his reign was known the use of letters, and the _amautas_ taught astrology and the art of writing on leaves of the plantain tree." Sinchi-Cozque won victories, and "adorned and fortified the city of Cuzco." Inti-Capac-Yupanqui, another remarkable character, divided the kingdom into districts and subdistricts, introduced a complete civil organization, instituted the solar year of three hundred and sixty-five days, and established the system of couriers. Manco-Capac II. "made great roads from Cuzco to the provinces." These are the first six rulers named on the list.

In the next thirteen reigns nothing special is noted save attention to civil affairs, occasional conquests, and "a great plague." The twentieth sovereign, called Huascar-Titupac, "gave all the provinces new governors of royal blood, and introduced in the army a cuirass made of cotton and copper." The twenty-first, Manco-Capac-Amauta, "being addicted to astronomy, convened a scientific council, which agreed that the sun was at a greater distance from the earth than the moon, and that they followed different courses." In the next twelve reigns, wars, conquests, and some indications of religious controversy are noted. The thirty-fourth ruler, called Ayay-Manco, "assembled the _amautas_ in Cuzco to reform the calendar, and it was decided that the year should be divided into months of thirty days, and weeks of ten days, calling the five days at the end of the year a small week; they also collected the years into decades or groups of tens, and determined that each group of ten decades should form a sun."

Among the next twenty-nine sovereigns, Capac-Raymi-Amauta, the thirty-eighth of the line, and Yahuar-Huquiz, the fifty-first, were "celebrated for astronomical knowledge," and the latter "intercalated a year at the end of four centuries." Manco-Capac III., the sixtieth sovereign of this line, is supposed to have reigned at the beginning of the Christian era, and in his time "Peru had reached her greatest elevation and extension." The next three reigns covered thirty-two years, it is said. Then came Titu-Yupanqui-Pachacuti, the sixty-fourth and last sovereign of the old kingdom, who was killed in battle with a horde of invaders who came from the east and southeast across the Andes. His death threw the kingdom into confusion. There was rebellion as well as invasion, by which it was broken up into small states. The account of what happened says: "Many ambitious ones, taking advantage of the new king's youth, denied him obedience, drew away from him the people, and usurped several provinces. Those who remained faithful to the heir of Titu-Yupanqui conducted him to Tambotoco, whose inhabitants offered him obedience. From this it happened that this monarch took the title of King of Tambotoco."

During the next twenty-six reigns the sway of the old royal house was confined to this little state. These twenty-six successors of the old sovereigns were merely kings of Tambotoco. The country, overrun by rude invaders, torn by civil war, and harried by "many simultaneous tyrants," became semi-barbarous; "all was found in great confusion; life and personal safety were endangered, and civil disturbances caused an entire loss of the use of letters." The art of writing seems to have been mixed up with the issues of a religious controversy in the time of the old kingdom. It was proscribed now, even in the little state of Tambotoco, for we read that the fourteenth of its twenty-six rulers "prohibited, under the severest penalties, the use of _quellca_ for writing, and forbade, also, the invention of letters. _Quellca_ was a kind of parchment made of plantain leaves." It is added that an _amauta_, who sought to restore the art of writing was put to death. This period of decline, disorder, and disintegration, which covered the "dark ages" of Peru, lasted until the rise of the Incas brought better times and reunited the country.

Rocca, called Inca-Rocca, was the first of the Incas. He was connected with the old royal family, but did not stand in the direct line of succession. The story of his rise to power is told as follows: "A princess of royal blood, named Mama-Ciboca, contrived, by artifice and intrigue, to raise to the throne her son called Rocca, a youth of twenty years, and so handsome and valiant that his admirers called him _Inca_, which means lord. This title of _Inca_ began with him, and was adopted by all his successors." He appears to have had great qualities as a ruler. Not much time passed before he secured possession of Cuzco, made war successfully against the neighboring princes, and greatly extended his dominions. Under his successors, the empire thus begun continued to grow, until it was extended from Quito to Chili, and became the Peruvian empire which the Spaniards robbed and destroyed.

PROBABILITIES.

It has been the fashion to depreciate Montesinos, but I find it impossible to discover the reasons by which this depreciation can be justified. It is alleged that he uses fanciful hypotheses to explain Peru. The reply to this seems to me conclusive. In the first place, he is, in this respect, like all other writers of his time. That was an age of fanciful theories. Montesinos is certainly no worse than others in this respect, while he has the merit of being somewhat more original. He brought the Peruvian civilization from Armenia, and argued that Peru was Solomon's Ophir. Undue importance has been accorded to several of the old Spanish chroniclers, whose works contain suggestions and fancies much more irrational. In the second place, his theories have nothing whatever to do with his facts, by which they are sometimes contradicted. He found in Peru materials for the scheme of its ancient history, which he sets forth. Readers will form their own estimates of its value, but no reasonable critic will confound this part of his work with his fanciful explanations, which are sometimes inconsistent with it. For instance, his theory assumes that the first monarch of the old kingdom began his reign as far back in the past as the year 2500 B.C. But he reports only sixty-four rulers of that old kingdom. Now, if there were so many as sixty-four, and if we allow an average of twenty years to each reign (which is sufficient), we can not carry back the beginning of that first reign to the year 1200 B.C.

There is another objection, which must be stated in the words of one of the critics who have urged it: "Montesinos treats the ancient history of Peru in a mode so original and distinct from all others that we can perceive it to be a production alike novel and unknown." If this means any thing, it means that it was highly improper for Montesinos to find in Peru what was "unknown" to poorly-informed and superficial Spanish writers, who had already been accepted as "authorities." It would have been singular if his careful investigation, continued through fifteen years, had not given him a great amount of information which others had never taken pains to acquire. His treatment of the subject was "original and distinct from all others," because he knew what other writers did not know. His information did not allow him to repeat the marvelous story of Manco-Capac and Mama Oello, nor to confine Peruvian history to the time of the Incas. But when the result of his inquiries was announced in Europe, Garcilasso and others regulated the fashion of Peruvian studies, and the influence of their limited and superficial knowledge of the subject has been felt ever since.

The curious theories of Montesinos may be brushed aside as rubbish, or be studied with other vagaries of that age in order to understand its difference from ours; but whoever undertakes to criticise his facts needs to be his equal in knowledge of Peru. His works, however, tell us all that can ever be known of Peruvian ancient history, for the facilities for investigation which existed in his time are no longer possible. It may, however, be useful to consider that the main fact in his report on the subject is no more "original and distinct" than the testimony of the monuments around Lake Titicaca. The significance of this testimony is now generally admitted. There _was_ a period in the history of Peruvian civilization much earlier than that of the Incas, a period still represented by these old monuments which, so far as relates to this point, are as "novel" and "original" as Montesinos himself.

That the civilization found in the country was much older than the Incas can be seen in what we know of their history. Their empire had grown to be what Pizarro found it by subjugating and absorbing a considerable number of small states, which had existed as civilized states before their time. The conquest of Quito, which was not inferior to the Valley of Cuzco in civilization, had just been completed when the Spaniards arrived. The Chimus, subjugated a few years earlier, are described as even more advanced in civilization than any other Peruvian community. The small states thus absorbed by Peru were much alike in manners, customs, manufactures, methods of building, and general culture. It is manifest that their civilization had a common origin, and that to find its origin we must go back into the past far beyond Inca-Rocco, the first of his line, who began the work of uniting them under one government.

Moreover, there were civilized communities in that part of the continent which the Incas had not subjugated, such as the Muyscas on the table-land of Bogota, north of Quito, who had a remarkable civil and religious organization, a temple of the sun built with stone columns, a regular system of computing time, a peculiar calendar, and who used small circular gold plates as coin. They were described by Humboldt.